Chapter 275 - Tempering

"This isn't what I had in mind."

Rynold stood in the island's courtyard, over a complicated-looking machine right in front of him. It looked a lot more elaborate than what the Mech God had explained. To which, all Rynold had to do was to put his hands on the machine. And, the Mana Crystal inside it would handle the rest.

"Stop complaining, you mongrel," the Mech God said as he coordinated the drones to set things up for Rynold, "If you want to reach the next stage of your Mana Core, this is the way to do it."

"I don't doubt it," answered Rynold as he looked at his surroundings, countless drones flying in and out of place. "But, isn't there another way? You know, one that doesn't need all this equipment?"

It seemed a lot more elaborate than it should be. At least, that was what Rynold thought, while the other two didn't share the same sentiment. The Mech God knew what he was doing, after all, seeing as how his knowledge and experience were leaps and bounds over Rynold's. Crimson, on the other hand, didn't say anything. Remaining quiet and neutral seemed as good an option as any.

"Without all this equipment, I can say, with one hundred percent certainty, you will die."

The Mech God didn't mince words, knowing full well that any explanation wouldn't satisfy Rynold's objections. While banter coming from a mortal was refreshing, it got old really fast. The Mech God couldn't be bothered with putting up with any more of Rynold's bullshit. While the response was a tad extreme, it was the sensible thing to do.

"Right, right," Rynold defeatedly nodded as he looked towards the Mana Crystal housing right in front of him. He studied the Mana Crystal, noticing that it wasn't anything special. Having seen his fair share of the purest of Mana Crystals, the one in front of him was far from anything interesting.

That said, Rynold thought that the whole mechanism had something to do with the metal plates all around him. They had intricate lines and details, runes that Rynold could barely understand. They caught his interest, more so than anything else there.

"Mind telling me what those things are?" Rynold asked, even though he was fully capable of guessing. As he felt like he needed an explanation, Rynold didn't expect the Mech God would willingly cooperate. The two hadn't been on the best of terms. Well, not right now, anyway.

Hearing Rynold's question, the Mech God looked to where Rynold was pointing. He then looked to Rynold and somewhat irritably explained, "They're a part of a magic array of my design. A small cog to an otherwise giant machine. If you want to go into the details, ask another time. You're the one in a hurry, remember?"

"Fair enough."

The next few minutes passed by quickly. Rynold stood in silence, watching the drones do most of the work. Crimson, who stood on the side, did the same. Meanwhile, the Mech God concentrated on assembling the whole thing together. Throughout the process, Rynold studied what he could from the Mech God.

Observations and analytics were always something Rynold did. And, as of now, Rynold could pick a lot of things up just by looking at them. He theorized and studied the scene as it played out, taking what he could and keeping in mind what he couldn't.

Eventually, the construction finished, and the courtyard suddenly felt crowded. Crimson and the Mech God stood to the side of the machinery, looking at it at its full glory. All the while, Rynold stood at the center, mentally preparing for what he had to do. Rynold hadn't realized it before, but this next step seemed to be the linchpin of the entire plan.

"Mind running me through again?" Rynold called out, hopefully, loud enough for the ones outside to hear.

"You don't have to yell," the Mech God answered, "We can hear you just fine. Anyway. This creation of mine's purpose is to develop Mana Cores. It's unstable, and only those who are actually desperate enough would ask for something like this. But, I digress."

"You don't have to tell me the success rate or anything. All I need to know is what I need to do."

The Mech God rolled his eyes, not that Rynold could see it. "Putting your death wish aside. I want you to know that whatever happens, it's going to be on you."

After hearing that, Rynold fell silent. For a moment, he doubted his intentions and drive, whether this whole thing was worth it or not. But, his doubt soon disappeared as he realized that he needed to get a move on with his life, taking action amid uncertainty.

"That's fine," Rynold answered, his voice unshaken, "Better tell me what I need to do, 'cause I'm getting antsy."

"Well, it's your funeral," the Mech God responded with a slight smile on his face, "The first thing you do is to place your hands on the tablet right in front of you. From there, push your Mana onto the Mana Crystal. Remember to give it everything you've got. As soon as you're ready, I'll activate the circuits below you, and a resisting Mana will be pushing back. I'll keep increasing the intensity until you tell me to stop. There isn't a failsafe in this thing, so you better be ready."

"Really? This whole thing seems awfully complicated for a Mana Core upgrade. What the hell's the difference between me just sticking my hands on a purer Mana Crystal? Can't we do that instead of going through all this trouble?"

The Mech God shook his head in frustration, wondering, for a second, why he even chose Rynold to become a Candidate. A stupid question like that felt like he had to take back every single compliment he had given Rynold. It wasn't like Rynold didn't know any better.

"You want to try something like that again? May I remind you that the last time you tried that, you nearly died? If it wasn't for me, you could've just as easily bled to death. Besides, with this thing, I can at least regulate what tier of Mana Crystal you could handle. It's minimizing the risk."

"Fine, I'll take your word on it," Rynold sighed and placed his hands on the tablet. He took a deep breath and started circulating his Mana. In a flash, the Mana poured out of his hands, augmenting the tablet his hands were on. "I'm ready. Bring it!"

Without responding, the Mech God activated the mechanism, lighting up the lines and lines of the magic array below Rynold's feet. They were dim at first, getting brighter as the Mana emanating from the tablet got more intense. Rynold clenched his jaw as he focused everything he had on staying awake. Pushing Mana out while resisting the Mana that was coming in, Rynold stood tall as the trial commenced.

"Are you sure this is safe?"

Crimson, who had been observing all this time, asked the Mech God. While he made it clear that he wanted to be a bystander in all of this, he couldn't help but express some concern. The Mana he felt coming from the mechanism was dense, wondering if Rynold could take it.

"It's safe," the Mech God responded, focusing on the task at hand, "Just let me..."

Boom!

The mechanism brimmed in intensity as a shockwave released from where Rynold was standing. At that moment, Rynold reached the third Tier of his Mana Core. It didn't take very long, seeing as how he had tempered it long before now. Thanks to his previous near-death experience, Rynold reached the next Tier much faster than even the Mech God had expected.

"Oi!" Rynold yelled out as he realized that the Mana from the tablet became much easier to deal with, "Keep going! Let's hit the next Tier if we can!"

"It's your funeral."

As the Mech God muttered those words underneath his breath, he doubled the intensity of the device. The feeling quickly overwhelmed Rynold, but he soon coped, albeit with some difficulty.

While hitting the third Tier makes things easier, Rynold felt the need to push for the fourth. He was falling behind nearly every other Chosen out there in terms of level and spells. While Rynold could compensate with a lot of other things, Rynold chose to push his Mana Core instead.

Or, at least, he tried to.

The gap between the third and fourth-tier was much wider than Rynold expected. And, at the pace he's going, he won't be able to get there in a day's time. It would take weeks, or even months, of going through the same process. But, Rynold wasn't one to give up an opportunity once it presented itself. Rynold didn't know when's the next time he could go through this again.

"Keep going!" Rynold shouted, with a strained tone to his voice, "Double the intensity! No! Triple it!"